Sports & Leisure

Basketball and football are very important in Greek life. The national football team won the European Championship Cup in Portugal in July 2004. The basketball has become very popular too, with Greece winning the European Basketball Championship title in 1987 and 2005.

Golf

Golf has never been, to borrow the British phrase, Greek’s cup of tea. However there is the Glyfada Golf Club, just a few kilometers from the city center. It is a green oasis of rolling hills, landscaped with mature trees and shrubbery. In addition to its Pro Shop, driving range and putting green, the course has facilities for meetings and social events for up to 2,000 people. The course is an 18 hole, Par 72 course and was designed by Donald Harradine.It opened in 1966 and has continually hosted such events as the World Cup Tournament in 1979, the Mediterranean Gamers in 1992, and for the past three years, the PGA Senior Greek Open. Bookings are necessary on weekends. For more information please contact:

Tennis players take advantage of post-Olympic Athens and choose to play a set or two at The Olympic Tennis Centre at The Athens Olympic Sports Complex (OAKA) in the suburb of Marousi just 10 km (6 miles) north of Athens. Designed by world-renowned architect, Santiago Calatrava, OAKA is one of the most spectacularly designed stadiums and one of Athens\\\' most modern monuments and works of art. Play where renowned tennis athletes volleyed. The Athens Tennis Academy rents out its OAKA tennis courts to visitors. The Athens Tennis Club does the same. It has 10 outdoor courts, all of them floodlit. There are also three squash courts and a gym.For more information please contact:

.: SwimmingIn Athens, swimming is not a sport, it\\\'s a national pastime and an international phenomenon considering that it is the leading Mediterranean capital to be awarded the most "blue flags" for its beaches. You may try Attica’s clean and attractive beaches or you may also use the many public or private swimming pools around the city. For those however who find going to the seashore a chore, there are several public and hotel pools in and near the center of Athens.

.: Water SkiNautical Club of Vouliagmeni was the first Greek athletic club pioneering in competition water-ski (1959). Until 1963 it represented Greece in the World Water Ski Union, known today as International Water Ski Federation (IWSF).Hellenic Water Ski Federation (HWSF) was founded in 1963; Greek national water-ski teams participate in international competitions since 1965. HWSF consistently aims in promoting water-skiing by supporting (technically and financially) water-ski clubs throughout the country, thus implementing the vision of its founder and first President, the late Athanassios Diakakis (1963-1980). For more information please contact:

.: SailingIt is a sport irrevocably connected with the Greek people throughout the country’s long history and centuries of nautical tradition. Today, it is one of the most popular sports and thousands of Greeks practice it systematically (in competitions or as a simple sport) using all types of sailing boats.Information about the sport in Greece, the sailing associations per geographical region, the requirements and procedures to participate in special training programmes, is provided by the:

.: WindsurfingWindsurfing is an exciting sport for everybody, irrespective of age and sex. No special body strength is needed, at least in the beginning, the most important part being played by correct technique. Apart from being fun and an Olympic sport, windsurfing is a professional sport since 1985, as well as a demonstration and competition sport in indoor areas, where the necessary conditions are artificially created. As the weather conditions in Greece are ideal (mild climate, appropriate strength of the winds etc), the popularity of the sport has increased spectacularly and more and more Greek people practice it systematically.

.: DivingThe particularly clean Attica’s seas and the huge wealth of the deep are a pole of attraction for those wishing to enjoy the magic of underwater exploration. Diving using only a mask is allowed everywhere, but scuba diving using compressed air tanks is forbidden in areas with underwater antiquities.

For more information you may contact at:Hellenic Federation of Underwater ActivitiesPost Office of the Old West Air - Terminal, 166 04 EllinikoTel: (+30) 210-98.19.961, Fax: (+30) 9817558

Winter Sports

In the cooler months Athenians grab their skis and snowboards and head for the hills. If you’re here between December and mid-April, it’s a great time to get to know the region’s mountains and explore their white snowy slopes. Just a couple of hours drive from Athens you can ski on Mount Parnassos (approximately 180 km). The ski centre, situated at an altitude of 1,600 to 2,300 meters (5,300 to 7,500 feet), is divided into two separate ski areas -- Fterolaka and Kellaria – that feature 13 ski lifts and 23 ski runs totaling 14km (9 miles). There are ski and snowboarding schools, rental facilities and shops where you can buy equipment and clothing.

Horse riding is a great way to escape the city all year round and there are a number of equestrian sports clubs in Athens which organize horse riding excursions on the nearby mountain trails.The Hellenic Riding Club in the Paradissos area of Maroussi suburb became the focus of interest of many Athenians who had the prerequisites to practice equestrian sports.